I Can Breathe Now.

Good credit card debt article over there at Get rich slowly. It describes one man’s quest to get out of a 20 year debt hole. Motivating!

$800 Billion. $8500 is the average total credit card balance. That’s how much America owes big credit. That load of groceries you bought at Kroger on 08/03/03. That Mochaccino you bought at Starbucks a couple years ago. All of the gas you have purchased in the last few years. Those items are on those credit card balances we have - compounding and compounding every month, day, minute. I bet that Mochaccino will end up costing you $15.83 before that balance is paid off.

These balances will never shrink because Money is Debt. As long as people want stuff they cannot afford, this country will be in debt.

Lots of folks have the bulk of their bills due at the beginning of the month, mortgage payments, rent, car payments, etc. Also, people tend to have their credit card payments due at about the same time. However, this does not have to be the case. Most issuers will allow you to change the due date of your credit card bill with no questions asked. There is little consequence to the issuer, as your account will continue to accrue finance charges. For instance, if you were to push your due date 8 days, your billing cycle would have 38 days worth of finance charges (if you were to carry a balance), as opposed to the usual 30 days worth.

However, if you continue to call your card issuer every month or two, they may get wise and start asking if you are having problems with paying your bills and may be reluctant to move your due date further. Moving your due dates can give you much more wiggle room if your finances are tight. Give your issuer(s) a call and they will more than likely oblige your request.

Early in 2006, I hit rock bottom. I was drowning in over $40,000 of credit card debt. I had balances on 8 cards, ranging from $300 to $13,000. I was having major problems keeping my head above the water. Late fees, over the limit fees - it was too much for me to handle. Looking for answers on the internet, I found something called a DMP, or debt management plan, that I immediately enrolled in. The DMP folks negotiated APRs that were 1/3 or less than what I was currently paying,. Also, they presented monthly payments amount that the creditors were happy with.

The point of this site is to show folks drowning in debt - particularly credit card debt, that there are ways to breathe easily again. However, it will take patience, diligence, discipline, and determination. Come up with some goals for yourself and stick to them. It may take a few years, but you will soon be living within your means again.

Lots of folks do not know that credit card fees can be wiped out fairly easily. If you have had a good record of paying your credit card bills on time, you’ll be in a better position than those who have been late one or two times in the past year. Most credit card companies will give you one “free pass”. You simply call, say it was a mistake, and that it won’t happen again. Almost always, they will take the late fee off. However, the second time around can be a bit more tricky - especially if your last late fee removal request was recent. Sandeep in Bangalore will see that you called last month or the month prior asking to have a late fee removed. He will say, “No kind sir/ma’am.. I see you have had a recent delinquency removed. I cannot kindly remove the appropriately-earned late fee .”

Here are some ideas on how to get the late fees removed from your credit card statement.

1. Tell the truth. This will work the first time, or maybe a second time if you had not had a late fee recently.
2. Lie. There are a whole plethora of lies that the credit card call centers have heard. Some may work, some may not. Here are some examples:
   1. “I tried to set up auto-pay on my account online, but it’s not there now.”
   2. “I was out of the country the last few weeks, but I paid over twice than the minimum the last statement, thinking that would cover my account for a while.”
   3. “I submitted payment for this month’s statement online a few months ago… why did it disappear?”
   4. “I thought this account was already paid off.” (This plea will only seldom work if you have a low balance)

What excuses have worked for you?